Wait Is a Four-Letter Word
Wait is a four-letter word. Coincidence? I think not.
We're all waiting on something from God: true love or a baby, a job or a cure. And the period between answers can feel like a place where dreams—and faith—go to die.
I have often thought to myself, The worst part of waiting is the uncertainty. I wish God would just give me a yes or no so I can move on with life.
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Have you ever thought something like this:
If I knew I wasn't going to find true love, maybe I could get busy building a fulfilling life as a single person.
If I knew I wasn't going to have the career breakthrough I've longed for, maybe I could devote my time and energy to other things.
We tell ourselves the problem is the not knowing. Dealing with uncertainty. We tell ourselves we wouldn't mind waiting so much if God just told us, "You're going to get what you want in the end, but buckle up for a long ride—it's going to take awhile."
But who am I kidding? When I'm waiting, I want more than just a yes or no from God. It's not enough to know if, I want to know when. I want a timeline. A fat red circle on the calendar.
I'm going to wait two years and nine months before I get pregnant, You say? Okay. I don't love that timeline, but I can work with it. I'll do the Pinterest thing and make a cute countdown calendar, and I'll find a way to be happy the whole time I'm waiting.
But life doesn't work that way, God doesn't work that way. It is in the not knowing that God works on our heart, our faith, our character. It is in the not knowing that 2 Peter 1 and James 1 collide:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5–8
Christians are meant to grow—to become godlier, more loving, more self-controlled, better at persevering—so we don't stagnate spiritually. Spiritual growth doesn't happen automatically, accidentally, or overnight. Spiritual growth is a lifetime process we never outgrow. It takes conscious effort—every effort, in fact. The perfectionist in me finds this both overwhelming and comforting—overwhelming because I want to be done growing (meaning perfect) yesterday; comforting because I realize I'm not supposed to be done growing yet. Character is built slowly: step-by-step, choice by choice, even mistake by mistake, one strength building on another over time. Smack in the middle of this character-building process we find the trait we desperately need when we are waiting: perseverance. Now let's pair this passage with what James says about perseverance:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2–4
Did you catch that last phrase—"let perseverance finish its work"—as in it's up to us to allow that work to happen so we can grow? As in trials produce perseverance, and perseverance can lead to spiritual maturity, but we have to let it happen, not fight the process? If we let Him, God can use our waiting journeys to shape us, to make us into the people He created us to be.
Knowing our weakness, knowing our need, God offers us many stories of godly people who have wrestled with waiting with varying success. People like Sarah, who received a definitive promise from God but then crumbled in the face of bleak fact: seventy-five-year-old women just don't have babies. The good news for those of us (all of us) who wait imperfectly? Many of our fellow waiters in the Bible got second chances. (Remember Sarah's miracle baby, Isaac?) And third and fourth and fifth chances, and on and on goes the grace of God.
Waiting seasons aren't fun, but they are opportunities. Through our waiting seasons—yes, through the not knowing—we can build character one step at a time. Through our waiting seasons, perseverance can gradually "finish" its never-ending work in us. As waiting does its thing, and God does His, we get the chance to become our best selves, the people God designed us to be. So what are we waiting for? Let's get started.
If you're experiencing your own season of waiting, pick up a copy of When God Says "Wait" by Elizabeth Laing Thompson here and find encouragement during the space between answers. Elizabeth also invites you to enjoy the book trailer here and to connect with her at lizzylife.com.
